Protarchaeopteryx

Graphical skeletal reconstruction of Protarchaeopteryx robusta

• China, Liaoning ( Yixian Formation)

• Protarchaeopteryx robusta

Protarchaeopteryx a genus is theropod, feathered dinosaur from the group of Oviraptorosauria from the Lower Cretaceous of southern China. The only way Protarchaeopteryx robusta was first described in 1997. Protarchaeopteryx was about a turkey large, bipedal running Maniraptore, which probably fed vegetable or an omnivore was.

Fund and naming

Protarchaeopteryx is due to an incomplete skeleton known ( holotype, catalog number GMV2125 ). Skull and vertebrae are poorly preserved, the ribs are entirely absent. The limbs and the pelvic region, however, are completely intact. The finding comes from the approximately 128-121 million years ago (late Barremian to early Aptian ) sediments which Jianshangou -Beds of the Yixian Formation, a layer member of the Jehol Group. The location of the discovered in December 1996 Fossils lies to the west of the village in the district Sihetun Beipiaoshi in the Chinese province of Liaoning. The genus name Protarchaeopteryx ("First old wing " ) comes from ancient Greek and is derived from protos ("first " ) and Archaeopteryx ( arkhaios " old " pteryx "wing" ), because he more primitive of the Erstbeschreibern first as a close but relative of Archaeopteryx was held. The Artepitheth robusta comes from Latin and means as much as "robust" or " powerful " and alludes to the powerful hind legs of the animal.

Features

Protarchaeopteryx possessed as well as Caudipteryx ( consisting of spring shaft and feather banner ) "real " feathers on the arms and at the tail end. The springs were generally not longer than five inches, but the resulting sections of the tail feathers are up to 10 cm long - a full tail feather would probably be longer than 15 cm have been. The springs were just as in Caudipteryx, but in contrast to the springs airworthy birds, symmetrical. First described by Ji and Ji as a close relative of Archaeopteryx, Protarchaeopteryx was mostly viewed in a row as feathered " non-avian dinosaur ".

The following skeletal features had Protarchaeopteryx common after Zhou and Hou (2002) with higher birds:

• Pubis backward rotates with a Conficiusornis -like Schambeinfuß
• Backward first Fußzehe ( hallux )
• Reduced fibula
• Elle considerably thicker than spoke
• Metacarpals and phalanges of the second finger with respect to those of the other finger is increased.

Unlike Caudipteryx, but similar Incisivosaurus Protarchaeopteryx possesses an extraordinary heterodonte dentition with large straight teeth in the front part ( Zwischenkieferbein ) of the upper jaw and much smaller in the posterior upper jaw ( maxilla ) and lower jaw.